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Key Highlights
Flag gaffe: Paper fined, ministry next?
Paralympian's quest for justice
The GE16 reset
Flag gaffe: Paper fined, ministry next?
The MCMC fined Sin Chew Daily RM100,000 for publishing a botched graphic of the Jalur Gemilang in April.
However, the government has yet to announce any action against the Education Ministry for making a similar error.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had vowed that there would be no double standards.
Malaysiakini previously reported that several officers from the ministry's Education Board had been quietly transferred out following the error, but there has been no official confirmation regarding this.
Besides Sin Chew, MCMC also fined Sinar Harian the same amount over a separate blunder involving an infographic that erroneously claimed Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail was a PKR member.
Various groups, including the Media Council, have criticised the fines imposed on the press as heavy-handed and encouraging self-censorship.
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Paralympian's quest for justice
Just before the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games began last year, the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) was widely reported as saying that gold medallists would be awarded a RM60,000 cash incentive, pooled from three corporate sponsors.
A year later, athlete Cheah Liek Hou, who won gold in the badminton men's singles SU5, lamented that he had not received this reward and felt scammed.
The MPC responded by denying that such a promise was made and threatened to sue and suspend Cheah.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, in turn, rapped the MPC for overstepping its bounds and pushed for it to resolve the matter amicably.
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The GE16 reset
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke is proposing that GE16 serve as a reset for elections in the peninsula.
As it is, there are four different timelines for state elections.
Without a reset, elections may be held three different times in 2027 - once early in the year for Malacca, again by June for Johor, and a general election by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu are only due to hold state elections by the year end.
While Loke argues it is for cost savings, another factor to be considered is voter fatigue.
During the last Malacca and Johor state elections, turnout was relatively low among outstation voters, which in turn led to BN winning major victories not reflected during GE15.
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